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Neville Marriner to Tour New Zealand

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra gains recognition through well regarded recordings and attracts Sir Neville Marriner to conduct a series of concerts in October.

It was only a few years ago that the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra was a "complete unknown" to music lovers. Today however, the situation is different, thanks to the orchestra's high profile status in the Pacific area and a stream of well regarded recordings on the Koch and Naxos labels.

Now the orchestra has secured another coup by attracting Sir Neville Marriner, well known English Conductor, to the antipodes to conduct a series of concerts in October.

Marriner is well known for his work with the Academy of St Martins in the Fields, which he founded, and with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, of which he is Principal Guest Conductor.

He has also been associated with the Minnesota orchestra during the l980s, and has conducted orchestras literally around the world, recording with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and many other front line ensembles.

In New Zealand he will conduct several programs, and some of the works are the Brahms Second Piano Concerto, the Elgar Enigma Variations, the Walton Symphony 1, Debussy's La Mer, and Henry V by Walton. He will also be the conductor of the special 50th anniversary concert which will feature a piece specially commissioned for the event: Gareth Farr's Fanfare. This concert will also see Michael Houston play the Brahms Second Piano Concerto, and the Dvorak Carnival Overture.

Other conductors closely associated with the NZSO this season includes James Sedares, well known to American music lovers (via the Phoenix SO), David Shallon, Kenneth Young and Barry Wordsworth. Meanwhile, the recordings continue, with further plans for releases on the Naxos label (Bruckner and other composers), and Koch. And judging by recent releases this orchestra has little to fear from ensembles closer to the cultural hub(s) of the world.